Linguistics Questions

Effective communication: measure of effectiveness:

The number of phonemes used by the English language is approximatelya. several thousand. b. 40. c. 150. d. 8.

Brian is a person with brain damage who has lost the ability to do most visual tasks, including tasks requiring him to think about an object's color. On the basis of other evidence, it is likely that BrianAmay still be able to perform normally on spatial tasks.Bwill also be unable to do auditory tasks, including tasks requiring him to think about pitch.Cwill also be unable to do image scanning.Dwill also be unable to perform mental rotation tasks.

Matt is shown two complex three-dimensional images (A and B) and asked to determine if the images are identical. The images are aligned in different planes, so answering the question requires mentally rotating one of the images. Which of the following statements about Matt's task is true?AThe larger the required the rotation, the faster responding will be.BThe smaller the required rotation, the slower responding will be.CThe time it takes will be the same, regardless of the required rotation.DThere is a systematic correlation between the required rotation and reaction time.

Which of the following claims about phrase-structure rules is FALSE?a. The rules determine whether the sentence is true or false. b. Word sequences that break the rules are likely to be judged as ungrammatical.c. The rules identify natural groupings of words within a sentence. d. The rules govern the pattern of branching that is possible in a phrase-structure tree

Phonemes that differ only in one production feature sound similar to each other, while phonemes that differ in several production features sound distinct. This suggests all of the following EXCEPT thatAthe features of speech production correspond to what listeners hear when listening to speech.Bproduction and perception are linked.Cerrors are more likely when production features are more similar.Dlisteners should be able to detect speech sounds simply by isolating individual sounds.

Reuben is visiting the aquarium and has just seen an octopus for the very first time. Reuben is therefore likely to haveAa definition for the concept of octopus.Bonly exemplar-based knowledge for the concept of octopus.Ca prototype for the octopus concept.Da prototype for the octopus concept and some exemplar-based knowledge.

The number of phonemes used by the English language is approximately

There is some evidence that being bilingual has other cognitive advantages. Which of the following is NOT one of those advantages?

***Although we may contain the necessary neural substrates for language, humans will NOT develop language skill unless they

A researcher creates a series of synthetic speech sounds gradually ranging, in uniformly small steps, from a "ta" sound at one extreme to a "da" sound at the other extreme. Participants are asked to identify each of these sounds. The researcher should expect to find that

In some speech sounds, the flow of air out of the lungs is entirely interrupted for a moment; for other sounds, the flow of air is restricted but air continues to flow. This feature of sound production is referred to as

Two clinicians are asked to diagnose a patient who shows symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression. The first clinician believes that depression is an important cause of OCD and so does not diagnose the patient with OCD. The second clinician believes that depression is a by-product of OCD but not a root cause. Therefore, she diagnoses the patient as having OCD. This example illustrates thatAour beliefs and background knowledge influence how we categorize things.Bclinicians are often mistaken in their diagnoses.Ctheories are often fallible and so should not be depended on in many situations. Dtheories are not involved when placing a test case into a particular category.

Lindsie, a three-year-old, is being taught English and Spanish at the same time. Which of the following facts about Lindsie's language acquisition is true?

If you put your fingers on your throat and produce a "z" sound, you will feel vibration. This vibration means the "z" sound is

The rules governing the sequence of words in forming phrases and sentences are rules of

Speech in a foreign language sounds very fast to a listener who is not familiar with the language. Which of the following statements does NOT accurately explain this fact?a. Top-down knowledge facilitates perception and understanding of speech in a native language, but not in a foreign language.b. All speech is really an uninterrupted flow of sound. c. Coarticulation makes speech seem slower in our own language, but not in a foreign language.d. Unfamiliar listeners lack the skill necessary to segment the speech stream

The fact that languages across the world show the same pattern of regularities leads researchers to believe that

For fluent speakers of a language, rules of the language such as how to create new words are often

***Barbara is 6 years old and has normal intelligence and muscle control, but she has a hard time understanding and producing language. She likely has